This invention relates to a new jewelry setting, and, in particular, to a jewelry setting for securing a row of precious stones, such as diamonds, in place.
Diamond jewelry has long been popular, widely sold and very attractive. One of the important objectives of diamond jewelry is to maximize brilliance when the diamonds are set to enhance their visual appearance and value.
The prior art is replete with diamond jewelry, especially wedding bands and engagement rings, and the settings to hold diamonds in place are widely varied. In essence, the primary objective which needs to be met is that the stone(s) be securely held in place while allowing as much light to pass therethrough and enhance the visual effect achieved thereby.
Individual diamonds are held by prongs as solitaires or in a bezel set, that is, single stones are held in a plurality of different ways. This invention relates to a new setting for holding a plurality of diamonds or stones in a row.
Conventional settings for diamonds set in a row has each diamond set in a respective set of prongs per stone. Some prior art teaches shared prongs, in which a prong holds two adjacent stones, so that the number of prongs is reduced and the precious metal utilized is also lessened. By reducing the amount of prong material which bears on the top of the stone, more light is permitted to pass therethrough, and a generally lighter, more modern look and feel is achieved.
In prior art shared prong settings, the culet of the diamond generally sits in a round hole formed in the bottom of the setting permitting some light to pass from under the stone. Since the stone rests in the hole at its bottom, side walls are required to provide sufficient structural strength for the ring to both support and secure the stones and the prongs. In the prior art, such side walls rise to at least half the height of the stone. These side walls block light passing through the set diamond which is undesirable.
An object of this invention is to provide a setting for a row of diamonds in which a shared prong is utilized but the amount of light passing through the diamonds is greater than that of the prior art.
Another object of this invention is to provide such a setting which is visually attractive.
Still another object of this invention is to provide such a setting in which the amount of precious metal required is less than that of prior art settings.
Still another object of this invention is to provide such a setting which is adaptable to open or channel type stone settings.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide such a setting which can be utilized for earrings, pendants, bracelets as well as for rings and wedding bands.
In accordance with this invention, the above objects are accomplished by providing an open setting for a row of diamonds in which the metallic support surface under the diamonds has a general X pattern having repetitive cross over points separated by repetitive quadrangle openings defining adjacent apexes. The shared prongs for holding the stones are located and extend upwardly from the apexes and have heights suitable to bear on the diamonds held thereby.
The culet of the stones/diamonds are held at the cross-over points and is held in a slight recess or divot formed thereat. In this way, the culets firmly sit in place and the diamonds are securely held on top by the shared prongs. By providing a bottom and solid support under the culet of the diamond, the side walls of the setting can be less high than that found in the prior art. The side walls of the settings of the prior art allow generally less than half of the side of the diamond to be revealed or uncovered, whereas the side walls of the setting of this invention reveal significantly more of the sides of the stones, and therefore a more brilliant look is achieved without sacrificing security.